EL SEGUNDO — Surprise 2023 hit Dave the Diver’s 23andMe profile has been released to the public, confirming the game is in fact partially of indie game descent. Our sources close to multi-billion dollar indie developer Mintrocket confirmed the authenticity of the profile.
“We’ve got that ‘indie feel’ both in the way Dave [sic] plays and in the way our developers wonder if they’ll have a job tomorrow. With these latest findings, it’s safe to say Dave the Diver is heading for indie game royalty,” said Taylor Kim, a VP at Mintrocket’s parent company. “I don’t believe our success is due to the millions we spent on marketing or the size of the team. I think what it all comes down to is people wanting to be on the ground floor in support of a small indie game.”
Some of the dev team at Mintrocket took to social media to celebrate the game’s newly confirmed lineage.
“My mom would talk for hours about this ancient game called Diner Dash. Looking back, it’s crazy that our game shares so much DNA with this game I’ve only ever heard of,” wrote an intern at Mintrocket.
“Stardew Valley was a direct influence to Dave the Diver, but now that I know we’re related I feel so much closer to Concernedape. To know we faced the same development challenges and limitations just really puts it all into perspective.”
Not everyone was excited by the news. Some in the games industry took to the web to call out Dave the Diver for its new “Pretindie Game” status.
“If it were truly an indie game, there’d be an insufferable personality behind it that we all love to hate, like a Phil Fish or a Johnathan Blow,” said one video game podcaster. “We would also not buy it until it hit “hidden gem” status ten years after release.”
At press time, leaders at Nexon announced sweeping layoffs at Mintrocket following their indie darling’s massive success.
